roasted master cleanse chicken with pumpkin mash

roasted master cleanse chicken with pumpkin mash

i only recently grew to like a whole roasted chicken. so, when friends visited for dinner a few weeks back, i thought why not make, an individual mini version for every one? accompanied by pumpkin mash and roasted green beans, it was the ideal winter dinner.

the nice twist about the chicken recipe is, that it’s made with lemon (so far so not new), maple syurp and paprika. for those health freaks and dieters among us, it might also be known as (drumroll) ‘the master cleanse’. the idea of the master cleanse is to drink lots (i wouldn’t dare say ‘only’, as it sounds too crazy…) of water with lemon juice, maple syrup and paprika – and apparently the health benefits of it are amazing. well, technically speaking, a chicken with master cleanse (especially with the amounts of butter) probably wouldn’t count as a proper diet. duh! spoil-sports everywhere… let’s just pretend it works, nevertheless, okay?

roasted master cleanse chicken

ingredients:

4 whole mini chicken

1 cup butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

4 tbsp. paprika

1 lemon, juice + 1 more lemon for slices / garnish

3 tbsp. coarse sea salt

directions:

preheat the oven to 220 degrees c (400 degrees f) and line the sheet with a parchment paper. start by cleaning the chickens under the running water and patting it dry. melt the butter and remove from the heat. add the paprika, lmeon juice, maple syrup and salt. brush the chickens with 2/3 of the butter maple mix, generously (don’t worry if you create a mess…). roast in the oven for 15 minutes, brush with some of the left-over butter. then lower the heat to 180 degrees. continue roasting for 25 to 30 minutes, brushing with the butter from time to time, until the chickens are evenly dark brown and crispy.

spiced pumpkin mash

ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into pieces

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces

2 tbsp. butter

1 to 3 cups good vegetable broth

1/2 cup parmesan

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 pinch fleur de sel + salt for cooking

directions:

in a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. salt generously, then cook the squash and potatoes in it until tender. drain. with a food processor or immersive blender, blend until very smooth and all chunks are eliminated. bring back to the head, add the butter, a bit of the broth (bit by bit) and the parmesan. stir to combine. if necessary, add more broth, until desired consistency. season with nutmeg and cinnamon, and some fleur de sel, if desired. served on lovely, warmed plates next to the crispy roasted chicken.